In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout describes her first day of school as gloomy, so much so as “to match the (Radley) house” she passes on her way to and from school. Scout’s teacher instructs her to stop reading and writing at home with her father. Scout says that “the prospect of spending nine months refraining from reading and writing made me think of running away.”
This is ironic in several ways. First, Scout’s teacher’s instructions are ironic because she tells her student to spend less time learning, which is a poor and ironic distortion of her job. Also, it is ironic that Scout feels that the nine months of school ahead of her will be less educational than her summer reading with her father. Scout associates the absence of reading and writing, two major forms of knowledge, with gloom. This is important because it emphasizes how knowledge is imperative to freedom. This theme is evident throughout the novel as those without education or protection, Atticus’s clients, are unfairly prosecuted.
The quote is also ironic because Scout runs to her house to escape the frightful Radley house. Here, she contemplates running away from her house, which was initially her safe place. The significance of the home in Lee’s novel cannot be ignored. The Radley house is a powerful symbol of mystery and embodies many gothic elements. It is so ominous as to instill fear and gloom in passersby.
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